The first electric stoves appeared in 1890 and were rather unpredictable in the way they cooked food. In his book Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things, Charles Panati describes it this way:
“With only the crudest of thermostats, heat control was not so much a matter of low, medium, or high as of raw or incinerated.”
Modern electric ranges did not really start to be feasible until the 1920s when electric rates became more affordable and more houses became wired for electricity which made mass production of electric ranges more profitable.
While the refrigeration machine was first invented in 1805, it wasn’t until the 1920s that household refrigerators became common. As with the electric range, the spread of electrified households made this appliance economically feasible.
Many museum exhibits include examples of the early electric ranges and refrigerators.
Polson Museum, Hoquiam, Washington
East Benton County Museum, Kennewick, Washington
Sherman County Historical Museum, Moro, Oregon
Miracle of America Museum, Polson, Montana
Paugh Regional History Hall in the Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, Montana
Renton History Museum, Renton, Washington
Tillamook County Pioneer Museum, Tillamook, Oregon
Hulda Klager Farmhouse, Woodland, Washington
Shown above is a modern electric replica of a wood-fired cooking stove.
Museums 201
Museums 201 presents photo tours from several museums. More from this series:
Museums 201: Model railroad dioramas (photo diary)
Museums 201: Gas stations and garages (photo diary)
Museums 201: Ancient Beds (photo diary)
Museums 201: The blacksmith shop (photo diary)
Museums 201: Wood-fired kitchen ranges (photo diary)
Museums 201: Washing machines (photo diary)
Museums 201: 1928-1929 Trucks (Photo Diary)
Museums 201: Piper Cubs (Photo Diary)